Ability

An Ability (Japanese: 特性ability) is a game mechanic introduced in Generation III that provides a passive effect in battle or in the overworld. Individual Pokémon may have only one Ability at a time. Prior to Generation VI, an Ability could not be changed after a Pokémon was obtained except by Evolution—where the new Ability is determined by the former Ability—and form change. Not every Ability is beneficial; some will hinder the user.

Mechanics

Some species of Pokémon have multiple possible Abilities. The most Abilities any species has is three: two normal Abilities and one Hidden Ability. In most wild Pokémon encounters, the Pokémon's Ability will be one of its non-Hidden Abilities (each having an even chance of appearing if the species has two). Hidden Abilities were introduced in Generation V; they are relatively rare and usually require some type of special encounter.

In technical terms, a species' Abilities may be thought of as having separate slots, with an individual Pokémon's non-Hidden slot determined by its personality value. For example, an Eevee—with two non-Hidden Abilities—has Run Away for its first non-Hidden slot, Adaptability for its second, and Anticipation for its Hidden Ability slot. Vaporeon—with only one non-Hidden Ability—can be considered to have Water Absorb for both non-Hidden slots. When a Pokémon evolves, its Ability slot remains the same. This means that a Poochyena with Run Away will evolve into a Mightyena with Intimidate, while a Poochyena with Quick Feet will evolve into a Mightyena with Quick Feet.

Aside from Evolution, there are two ways for Pokémon to change Abilities in a permanent manner. One way is if the Pokémon has different forms with different Abilities. The other way is through the Ability Capsule, which was introduced in Generation VI. The Ability Capsule actually changes a Pokémon's non-Hidden Ability slot, but it will not work if the Pokémon has its Hidden Ability or if the species has only one non-Hidden Ability. Aside from these methods, during battle, Pokémon may also change their Ability through Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion, and certain moves and Abilities can also change a Pokémon's Ability.

When Abilities were introduced in Generation III, some Pokémon only had one possible Ability. A number of these species were given a second Ability in a later generation. If a Pokémon whose species gained an Ability after Generation III is transferred to Generations IV or V, it will initially retain its original Ability; upon evolving, however, its Ability slot will be recalculated and its Ability may change. When a Pokémon is transferred to Generation VI, however, it will be locked into the appropriate slot for its current Ability.

Hidden Abilities

Beginning in Generation V, most Pokémon were given an additional, Hidden Ability (Japanese: 隠れ特性Hidden Ability), which can only be acquired under special circumstances. Such circumstances are listed below.

Pokémon found in a Friend Safari have approximately a 1 in 3 chance of having their Hidden Ability if the Friend to whom the Friend Safari corresponds has been recognized as a Friend in the PSS (i.e., if both players have been on the PSS at the same time).

Hidden Pokémon have a small chance of having their Hidden Ability. The chance increases as more of the same species are encountered.

Abilities and breeding

Before Generation V, the Ability slot that a Pokémon Egg would have when it hatched was left to random chance, resulting in a 50% chance of having either slot. Since Generation V, though, special mechanics have been introduced.

Starting in Black and White, female Pokémon with Hidden Abilities have a 60% chance of passing on the Hidden Ability to their offspring when bred with a male Pokémon from the same Egg Group. In Generation VI, this was extended so that male and genderless Pokémon with a Hidden Ability can also pass it down if they are bred with Ditto. The chance of the offspring having either non-Hidden Ability is 20% each.

Starting in Black 2 and White 2, there is an 80% chance that the Ability slot of the female will be passed to the baby when bred with a male Pokémon from the same Egg Group. Starting in Generation VI, this chance is generically applied to any non-Ditto parent.

In other games

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series

Abilities available in the core series games are also available in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. Some Abilities differ from their counterparts in the core series (e.g. Intimidate reduces the opposing Pokémon's Attack by 20%).

Pokémon Conquest

While most Pokémon species in Pokémon Conquest have access to three Abilities (similar to the main series, Hidden Abilities included), many of these Abilities are different from the main series due to differences in the battle system. For example, Abilities like Cute Charm and Rivalry do not exist in Pokémon Conquest (due to the game's lack of a gender mechanic), while other Abilities utilize mechanics unique to Pokémon Conquest battles (like "Sprint", which increases the user's movement Range).

Like the main series, an individual Pokémon's Ability is dictated by its current species (i.e. evolutionary form) and may change during evolution.

In the anime

Abilities have been shown in the anime, but are usually only used in battles; however, sometimes they have an effect on the plot, such as Ash's Infernape's Blaze. Abilities sometimes work differently in the anime than they would in the games, such as Mold Breaker, which in the anime cancels out more Abilities than it would in the games.

In Glory Blaze! Ash, Dawn and Brock found Paul and his other Pokémon evidently abusing his Chimchar, repeatedly attacking it until it eventually collapsed from exhaustion. When confronted, Paul explained that Chimchar actually wanted the brutal training regimen; when they first met, Chimchar was being attacked by wild Zangoose and when pushed to the limit it activated Blaze and defeated all of the Zangoose with Flame Wheel. This incredible power was what drove Paul to capture Chimchar in the first place and the two have been trying to replicate the experience ever since with no success.

Blaze returned in Chim - Charred! when Ash's Chimchar became enraged during a battle with Paul's Ursaring. It took considerable effort for Ash to return Chimchar to normal after it defeated Ursaring, causing Paul to leave the battle a draw. Paul told Ash that they would only battle again when and if Ash and Chimchar learned to control Blaze.

In the TCG

Abilities under the name of Abilities did not appear in the Trading Card Game until the Black & White expansion kicking off Generation V. However, this was merely a renaming of the longstanding Pokémon Powers. Pokémon Powers were very similar to Abilities, but were introduced much earlier, appearing in the very first Base Set during Generation I. In fact, some Abilities from the games originally appeared as Pokémon Powers.

With the introduction of the Expedition Base Set, Pokémon Powers were split into two groups: Poké-Powers and Poké-Bodies. Poké-Powers are special effects that the player must trigger or announce using. A Poké-Body's effect is a passive Ability that is always in effect. When Pokémon Powers became Abilities, these distinctions were done away with.

After Wattson is captured by the New Mauville generator, Sapphire devised a double battle strategy using his Electrike in Plugging Past Electrike II. While Electrike did not have the moves to defeat the generator itself, and the wild Donphan that Wattson and the Trick Master had originally intended to capture would be quickly eradicated by its powerful attacks, Electrike's Ability Lightning Rod would allow it to redirect the bolt away from Donphan, buying Donphan enough time to destroy the generator with Rollout.

In the Pokémon - The Legend of the Dragon King manga

Trivia

The unused Ability Cacophony was included in the coding for third-generation games as Ability #076 (Air Lock was #077). From the fourth generation, Cacophony was removed and Air Lock was renumbered as #076, with the new Abilities positioned from #077 onward.